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The Jakarta Post News Channelen-usWed, 04 Mar 2015 01:44:44 +0700news/2015/03/03/southeast-asian-buddhist-and-muslim-leaders-meet.html
A high-level summit of Buddhist and Muslim leaders opened in Yogyakarta on Tuesday aimed at strengthening cooperation to combat religious extremism.]]>A high-level summit of Buddhist and Muslim leaders opened in Yogyakarta on Tuesday aimed at strengthening cooperation to combat religious extremism.

Representatives from Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia agreed that good relations between followers of the two religious could be built based on openness and good communication.

“Communication and openness result in love and peace. On the other hand, [a lack of them] causes suspicion and fear,” head of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) Harsha Kumara Navaratne said during the summit.

Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) head Din Syamsuddin said that the summit was hoped to build understanding between followers of the two religions and that violence, extremism, radicalism were the common enemies.

“The two religions are theologically different but have the same values, namely they are religions of humanity,” Din said as quoted by Antara news agency.

According to Din, Buddhists and Muslims constituted three-fifths of Southeast Asia’s population and had relatively peaceful relations despite the violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country.

“[The Rohingya case] needs to be resolved soon. MUI and the Indonesian Buddhist Community [Walubi] have tried to mediate,” he said.

The summit in Yogyakarta was a continuation of an event held in Bangkok last year. (++++)

]]>The Jakarta PostJakartaWorldnews/2015/03/03/eu-condemns-russia-over-nemtsov-funeral-bans.html
EU-Russian relations took a further dip on Tuesday when the
European Union strongly condemned Moscow
for banning Polish and Latvian officials from entering the country to attend
the funeral of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov.]]>EU-Russian relations took a further dip on Tuesday when the
European Union strongly condemned Moscow
for banning Polish and Latvian officials from entering the country to attend
the funeral of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz called the bans a "high affront"
and said he will intervene with Russian authorities "in the strongest
terms and demand an official explanation."

Latvia,
which holds the rotating EU presidency, joined the criticism, arguing in a
statement that the move to deny MEP Sandra Kalniete entry "flies in the
face of basic principles of humanity."

The EU foreign policy service was especially irked since the
"justification in this particular case implies that she would represent a
threat to the security of the state or public order," said spokeswoman
Maja Kocijancic. "This does not appear as a credible explanation."

The Baltic News Service quoted the Russian embassy in Latvia as saying that "Kalniete's attempt
to enter Russia
is nothing more than a provocative public relations campaign."

Poland
joined the chorus of criticism after its senate speaker Bogdan Borusewicz was
kept out of the country for the funeral.

Borusewicz said Russia
is now "an undoubtedly authoritarian system that is moving in the
direction of dictatorship."

Under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin relations with the
28-nation EU have steadily deteriorated over the past half decade and have
turned into confrontation over the war in Ukraine, deliveries of gas and
human rights.

In the wake of the fighting in eastern Ukraine
and Moscow's annexation last year of the Crimean Peninsula, the EU has imposed visa bans
on 151 individuals, including several Russians. It also has imposed economic
sanctions, to which Moscow
has retaliated. (+++++)

]]>Raf Casert, Associated PressBrusselsWorldnews/2015/03/03/indian-state-bans-beef-introduces-jail-time-possession.html
India's western state of Maharashtra has introduced a ban on beef so strict that
even possession could land you in jail for five years, media reports and the
chief minister said Tuesday.]]>India's western state of Maharashtra has introduced a ban on beef so strict that
even possession could land you in jail for five years, media reports and the
chief minister said Tuesday.

The country's Hindu majority considers cows sacred, and several states
already ban their slaughter.

But the latest measures in Maharashtra -- home to India's commercial center Mumbai --
go even further, making sale or possession of beef an offence punishable by a
five-year jail term or a 10,000 rupee (US$160) fine.

The Indian Express newspaper said
the measures became law after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to a
legal amendment passed by the state parliament two decades ago.

The measures include a ban on the slaughter of bulls and bullocks, hitherto
legal with a vet's certificate, although it will still be legal to slaughter
buffalo.

Right-wing Hindu groups in India
have long demanded a complete ban on the slaughter of all cattle, citing
religious scriptures.

The main players in the beef industry are Muslims, the country's largest
religious minority, who make up some 13 percent of India's 1.25-billion population.

Maharashtra state is ruled by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in alliance
with the far-right Shiv Sena party. (+++++)

]]>Agence France-PresseMumbai, IndiaWorldnews/2015/03/03/golkar-tribunal-declares-agung-laksono-party-leader.html
The Golkar Party’s tribunal declared on Tuesday that Agung Laksono was the rightful party chairman, although it also mandated that Agung must also accommodate the opposing camp.]]>The Golkar Party’s tribunal declared on Tuesday that Agung Laksono was the rightful party chairman, although it also mandated that Agung must also accommodate the opposing camp.

Muladi, who oversaw the proceedings, said the tribunal did not agree to all demands filed by Agung’s camp.

“Some of demands filed by the complainant to recognize the results of the national congress in Ancol are granted,” Muladi said when reading out the decision, as reported by tempo.co.

However, Agung’s camp was also instructed to accommodate the results of the national congress held in Bali by the opposing camp of Aburizal Bakrie.

Agung was also told to make efforts to reconcile the party from the national level down to the regional level.

The tribunal also tasked Agung with preparing the party for the 2019 legislative and presidential elections by holding a national congress by October 2016 the latest.

“The national consolidation will be monitored,” Muladi said.

The decision was signed by Muladi and three others presiding over the proceedings, Andi Mattalatta, Djasri Marin and Ahmad Syarifuddin Natabaya.

Before reading out the decision, Muladi revealed that the panel was split, with him and Natabaya taking the position that the party tribunal could not issue a decision because the Aburizal camp had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to fight the West Jakarta District Court’s refusal to hear the dispute between the two camps.

However, Djasri and Andi recognized results from the Ancol national congress.

The party tribunal was held after Agung’s camp filed a request on Feb. 6. (nvn)(++++)

]]>The Jakarta PostJakartaNationalnews/2015/03/03/300-foreign-workers-employed-south-sumatra.html
Palembang Immigration Office is mapping companies that employ foreign workers, with at least 300 working throughout South Sumatra, in a bid to prevent the existence of undocumented workers in the province.]]>Palembang Immigration Office is mapping companies that employ foreign workers, with at least 300 working throughout South Sumatra, in a bid to prevent the existence of undocumented workers in the province.

“A joint team on the monitoring of foreign workers [Poras] is collecting data on the types of companies that employ foreign workers and is checking their [work] documents,” Palembang Immigration Office head Bogi Widianto said on Tuesday.

Once the mapping is completed, the Poras team, which includes personnel from the immigration office, prosecutor’s office and the police, will regularly check the companies and foreign workers’ leisure spots.

“So far, the team hasn’t found any foreign workers who have breached the Immigration Law or their temporary stay permits,” Bogi said in Palembang as quoted by Antara news agency.

At present, some 300 foreigners have temporary stay permits (Kitas) and work permits and work as teachers at foreign language learning institutions or as employees of plantation and mining companies in South Sumatra.

They are from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Singapore, with each having either 6 to 12 months validity on their Kitas, which can be extended up to five times, Bogi said. (++++)

]]>The Jakarta PostJakartaArchipelagonews/2015/03/03/families-airasia-crash-victims-try-move.html
Relatives of unlocated victims of AirAsia flight QZ8501 said on Tuesday that they were coming trying to terms with the fact they would never see the remains of their loved ones.]]>Relatives of unlocated victims of AirAsia flight QZ8501 said on Tuesday that they were coming trying to terms with the fact they would never see the remains of their loved ones.

“I have been waiting for news about my son for the past two months. Now I feel like I want to just let it go; maybe this is the way it was meant to be,” Dwiyanto, 60, said as quoted by Antara news agency on Tuesday in Surabaya, East Java.

Dwiyanto’s son was 31-year-old Bhima Aly Wicaksana, who lived in Surabaya and was traveling to Singapore to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) ceased on Monday its search for further remains of the Airbus A320, which crashed into waters off Central Kalimantan on Dec. 28 last year, killing 162 people on board, including one infant.

Basarnas recovered 103 bodies, 97 of which were identified.

Dwiyanto said he appreciated the joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team’s efforts to locate the plane wreckage and search for the bodies of the passengers and crew.

“They have been very open. They answered every question, no whether it was about their SAR programs or insurance,” he explained.

Basarnas announced on Monday that three vessels would remain stationed at the search location to continue an additional search operation that was intended to give additional time for the families.

The additional search effort will be conducted for a week beginning on Monday.

“I support the additional search effort, but I will try to let my son go if Basarnas doesn’t find him within this week,” he said.

The Metereology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency recorded that the earthquake occurred at 5:37 p.m.

The quake's epicenter was some 179 kilometers southwest of Pariaman, at a depth of 26 kilometers, Antara news agency reported.

No damage or casualties have been reported. (++++)

]]>The Jakarta PostJakartaArchipelagonews/2015/03/03/jci-falls-slightly-tuesday-s-close.html
The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) ended in the red in Tuesday’s final trading session, weakening by 0.06 percent to close at 5,474.61 points.]]>The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) ended in the red in Tuesday’s final trading session, weakening by 0.06 percent to close at 5,474.61 points.

The volume of transactions between the midday and final trading sessions was worth Rp 7.17 trillion (US$552.09 million) and involved 7.13 billion traded stocks.

Shares in six out of 10 sectors on the IDX declined, with construction recording the biggest fall, dropping by 0.98 percent, followed by mining and basic industry, which fell by 0.63 percent and 0.35 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Singapore’s Straits Times rose by 0.69 percent at Tuesday’s close. (nfo)(+++)

]]>The Jakarta PostJakartaBusinessnews/2015/03/03/myanmar-bar-owner-says-n-zealander-responsible-buddha-ad.html
The Myanmar owner of a
Yangon bar accused of insulting Buddhism in a drinks promotion told the court
Tuesday the New Zealand
bar manager was responsible for the offending ad that could see them jailed for
up to four years.]]>The Myanmar owner of a
Yangon bar accused of insulting Buddhism in a drinks promotion told the court
Tuesday the New Zealand
bar manager was responsible for the offending ad that could see them jailed for
up to four years.

Philip Blackwood, a general manager of the VGastro bar in Yangon, has been
held in the city's notorious Insein prison along with the bar's owner and
manager, both Myanmar
nationals, since posting the offending mocked-up photo of the Buddha wearing DJ
headphones in December.

The poster triggered outrage in the Buddhist majority country, which is
witnessing a surge in religious nationalism, and led to the arrest of the
32-year-old along with Tun Thurein, the bar's 40-year-old owner, and manager
Htut Ko Ko Lwin, 26, for insulting religion.

Bar owner Tun Thurein made a personal appeal to the court Tuesday, saying
Blackwood was responsible for the Facebook posting.

"It was not my instruction. I wasn't involved at all. We are not
guilty," he told the court, asking for the release of himself and the
manager.

The trio face up to four years in jail if found guilty of breaching the
Religion Act with the contentious poster, which was quickly withdrawn from the
bar's Facebook page as the furore erupted.

"The verdict will be given at 12 pm (0530 GMT) on Tuesday 17
March," court judge Ye Lwin said on Tuesday.

Under the act, anyone who attempts to insult, destroy or damage any religion
can be punished by a maximum of two years in jail, with another two-year
penalty for those who insult religion through the written word.

Delivering his final arguments, Blackwood's lawyer Mya Thway said his client
had "no intention" of insulting religion and was simply promoting a
cheap drinks night, reiterating a statement made by the New Zealander at an
earlier hearing.

"I ask for the acquittal and release of Mr Philip," the lawyer
told the court.

VGastro, a tapas restaurant and nightclub in an upmarket neighborhood of Yangon, was shut shortly after the poster came to light,
despite a Facebook apology by management for their "ignorance" in
using the Buddha's image.

After the hearing, a member of Blackwood's family who did not wish to be
named, said: "We trust the justice [system] in Myanmar... We are hoping for the
best." (+++++)

]]>Agence France-PresseYangon, MyanmarWorldnews/2015/03/03/rare-alien-deep-goblin-shark-found-australia.html
A rare sea creature described as an "alien of the deep" has been
found off Australia
and delivered to a museum which Tuesday showed off its fleshy snout, nail-like
teeth and flabby pink body.]]>A rare sea creature described as an "alien of the deep" has been
found off Australia
and delivered to a museum which Tuesday showed off its fleshy snout, nail-like
teeth and flabby pink body.

The prehistoric-looking goblin sharks live on deep sea bottoms and little is
known about their lives.

The museum said the body of the shark, which had died by the time it was
given to the local aquarium, had nonetheless been well kept and would be an
asset to its collection.

"It's pretty impressive, it's not hideous it's beautiful," said
the Australian Museum's fish collection manager Mark
McGrouther, who described its teeth as looking like "little daggers".

"They are not caught terribly often. They are not encountered terribly
often at all."

McGrouther said this was only the fourth goblin shark to be acquired by the
museum in Sydney,
with the first two collected in the 1980s.

The latest was picked up by a fisherman in January. It was found near Eden, off Australia's
southeast coast, at a depth of about 200 meters and delivered to a local
aquarium which kept it in excellent condition for the museum.

McGrouther said he was "thrilled" to handle the shark, which is
found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian
oceans. The species, whose scientific name is "Mitsukurina owstoni",
is thought to be a living fossil dating back some 125 million years.

The animal's jaw mechanism, which shoots forward when it detects prey and
then retracts under its fleshy, spade-shaped snout, fascinates McGrouther.

"I suspect because it has got soft, flabby musculature, it doesn't need
much energy... so it will swim slowly over the bottom just using its snout like
a metal detector," he told AFP.

"It will be sweeping over the bottom and when it detects a small fish,
or a crab or a squid it will shoot those jaws out 'wham' and capture whatever
it is.

"It will spear it with those sharp pointed teeth and then just wolf it
down whole."

The latest goblin shark specimen, from which tissue samples have been taken
for genetic testing, will be preserved by the museum and made available for
research. (+++++)